I applaud your immense ability to pidgin-hold, limit, and restrict yourself as a Cooley graduate before you have even sat for a single class. Your classification of Cooley graduates as primarily "public service lawyers and small firm community advocates" is incorrect and frankly insulting.
If these are your true mental impressions, then I strongly recommend (as a graduate of Cooley) that you take CJScolia's advice and not attend Cooley, because you will be eaten alive.
There is nothing wrong with someone going to Cooley, as they do with every school, wanting to be a public defender or work in a small firm, but to reduce "99%" of the graduates to that is factually inaccurate and shameful.
Your opportunities are no lessor than any other 3rd or 4th tier school. In most situations, after you have been in the "real world" for 2-4 years no one even cares where you went to school, unless your firm happens to be fundamentally involved in an alumni association. The firms just want to know how you will make them money.
Congrats, you've joined the ranks of the attacking posters on LSN.. good job feel good now? What I Said was that it is unlikely that a cooley grad would directly out of law school from Cooley with a JD be starting in a law firm making 100k plus. Just merely saying that going to Cooley or most any law school with that expectation would be misguided. And, feel free to get the employment statistics from LSAC or Cooley career services. For faster reference I'll just quote lsac:
- 80% employed within 9 months
- 50% in firms (with a firm being anywhere from 1 attorney to hundreds in the office)
- 18% in business
- 13% in gov't
- 5.7% in public interest
- 4.2% as judicial clerks
- 3.7% in academia
Its just important to be realistic about the future before taking on the 3-4 years in any law school- even though there is the slim chance that you could land an amazing, high paying position as you suggest.
I do agree that after a few years yes where you went will be decreasingly important, and your experience as an attorney would be more important.
Additionally, if you really went to cooley you might want to be appreciative of the few people that choose not to trash the school.
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I have zero appreciation for people that claim that cooley grads are limited to public service and small firms. And am sorry that I am not bowing down before you because you only have mildly/moderately misinformed things to say about the school. Seriously, give me a break. Your own figures from the LSAC show 5.7% being employed in "public interest" which show that your original statements (now watered down) were grossly inaccurate.
I really think you are missing the point -- you haven't even stepped foot in the school and have the wrong attitude. It not only will severely impair your ability to succeed at Cooley, but also reflects poorly on the school itself.
You are essentially settling before you have even been served with a petition/complaint -- whether you realize it or not. Maybe you should appreciate the direction/advice of something that has already been down the road that you haven't even seen yet.